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It is made of two boulders of S-type and I-type granite sourced from the Snowy Mountain region, connected by a wooden bench. It is located behind the new RSES (Research School of Earth Sciences) Jaeger 8 building, and was unveiled by esteemed geologist and friend of Professor White’s, Dr Shunso Ishihara, who travelled all the way from Japan for the event. The bench was designed around one of the pair’s most influential legacies: a classification system in which granites are classed as either I-type (formed from igneous rocks) or S-type (formed from sedimentary rocks).

Both men were world-renowned granite experts, who began their seminal work and 40-year research partnership at the Australian National University (A.N.U.) in the 1960s. Professor White was a member of the Geology Department from 1960 to 1971. He was an undergraduate student of the famous Australian geologist and Antarctic explorer, Professor Sir Douglas Mawson.

Professor Chappell’s career at the A.N.U.spanned more than 30 years, from 1960 to 1997. In the months before his death, in April this year, he was instrumental in establishing The Allan White Endowment in honour of his friend and colleague, who died in 2009.